A “Reproductive Justice Garden” featuring plants with a historical association with inducing abortions has been established at a taxpayer-funded state university, as similar abortion-focused projects appear on progressive college campuses across the US.
The garden, located at the State University of New York at Purchase outside the Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery, initially opened in 2019 and was revived in 2024 after becoming overgrown with weeds.
Among the plants included are black cohosh, angelica and wormwood, all of which have been cited for their potential to be harmful or fatal to fetuses.
According to a draft map, the space is organized into several themed areas, including a mental health garden, a menstruation garden and a pregnancy/gestation garden.
The installation is connected to the art collective “How to Perform an Abortion,” which hosts abortion-themed workshops at colleges and other venues around the country. On its website, the group describes the project as an effort to “demystify the historical, biological, and ethical stories surrounding abortion.”
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, criticized SUNY Purchase for allowing the project, telling The Post: “That a taxpayer-supported school would allow a club to prioritize destroying future students is one more reason that many are finding so-called ‘higher education’ not worth the money.”
“Planting poison will certainly help abusers who can stop by the garden, and who knows what it will do to animals. We definitely know that preborn babies will suffer,” Hawkins added.
In another post, the group addresses the history of the “peacock flower,” noting that enslaved women in the US and the Caribbean used it to induce abortions.
“By drinking the seeds, leaves, or flowers of the plant in tea-form, enslaved women could induce a miscarriage,” the post read.
The art collective encourages students to harvest plants from the garden — but does not expressly encourage kids to perform their own abortions.
“Harvesting in 5 easy steps: 1. Grab tools from the plant box 2. Pick your plant 3. Clip it! 4. Use the provided wire to wrap a bundle 5. Put back all tools in the plant box,” the group posted to Instagram on Sept. 14, 2025.
A similar project grew at Barnard College in Morningside Heights in October through May 2025 as part of an art installation associated with the collective called “Trigger Planting 2.0”
“Trigger Planting 2.0 assembles medicinal plants, data, texts, maps, and research drawn from local, national, and international sources,” the group said at the time.
“This garden started as a student art project and is still maintained by students. Reproductive health care is protected in New York State, and this garden serves as a piece of artwork for contemplation and reflection on the past, present, and future,” SUNY Purchase spokesperson Betsy Aldredge said.
